Ringing in the old
All the polls indicated that Israel's Labour Party would elect a "new and different" leader. He is neither new nor different, writes Graham Usher in Jerusalem

Expanding the settlements
Israel is consolidating its reoccupation of Hebron following a guerrilla attack earlier this week. Khaled Amayreh reports

Alone with the settlers
Jonathan Cook visits Yanun, a Palestinian village with much to tell about transfer and the settlers' clout

Danger signs
Clashes between the police and armed groups in the Jordanian city of Ma'an are setting off alarm bells ahead of a possible war on Iraq. Al-Ahram Weekly's correspondent in Amman reports

Students shake Tehran
Angry student protests in Tehran raged for a second week, following the death sentence against reformist academic Hashem Aghajari. Azadeh Moaveni reports

The wait before the war
Despite the war rhetoric coming daily from Washington, Iraq is likely to be given "some time" before military action takes place. Khaled Dawoud reports from the US capital

No spying this time
Nermin El-Mufti, in Baghdad, interviews Ewen Buchanan, the spokesman of The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and Mark Gwozdecky, spokesman of The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Whither Arab independence?
Does UNSC 1441 signal the beginning of the return of imperialist armies to the Arab world, asks Basheer M Nafi

The bike shop's door
Lamis Andoni on the campaign at home to prepare for America's war on Iraq

Beirut blasts
Beirut might be the scene for violent anti-American activity as war looms on the region, writes Mohalhel Fakih from the Lebanese capita

Two premiers, one party
After naming Turkey's new premier, Islamists are ready to run the secular country. Gareth Jenkins reports from Ankara

Third time lucky?
Sudanese peace talks ended on a sombre note this week in Kenya, for prickly issues were hurriedly postponed to the next round of peace talks, writes Gamal Nkrumah

Focus on the African Horn
The Horn of Africa is now on the Arab League's list of priorities. Dina Ezzat reports